Song Khwae

Song Khwae, later known as Phitsanulok, stands on the Nan River in the northern part of the central Thai plain. Its name means “two rivers”, recalling the waterways around the old settlement. The city was an important centre of the Sukhothai realm and later of Ayutthaya. Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat houses Phra Phuttha Chinnarat, one of the most revered Buddha images in Siam.

In the fifteenth century King Trailokanat of Ayutthaya moved his court to Phitsanulok during the struggle with Lan Na, residing there until his death in 1488. The city remained a seat for princes charged with governing the northern towns. Naresuan, later king of Ayutthaya, was born here in 1555 and returned to govern the city. Its place on the Nan linked the northern centres to the river routes leading south to Ayutthaya.